


Silent Nightmares

by yinyangswings



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Love & Legends (Visual Novel)
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Wizarding Wars (Harry Potter), Wizarding World (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26223793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yinyangswings/pseuds/yinyangswings
Summary: When nightmares of the past resurface, Cassidy Rouche struggles to keep it a secret from her friends, as well as August. She's dealt with them on her own since the end of the Second Wizarding War, she can still do so now.Too bad August does not share the same sentiment.
Relationships: August Falke/MC
Kudos: 1





	Silent Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> My MC's name for the August route was Cassidy Rouche.
> 
> In this AU, Cassidy is a muggleborn witch who was 12 when the Second Wizarding War happened. She was captured by Death Eater and kept alive purely for his desire to torture a muggleborn witch. She escaped a little before the war ended. She's a healer, so offensive spells are not her strong point, hence learning how to sword fight.

_The air was stale and it stank of shit and piss. Her's specifically, though she was too tired to care. She swallowed, curling up, wincing as pain traveled through her wounds, the chain heavy against her shoulders. She looked up as footsteps descended down the stairs. A cloaked figure strode into the room, and even with his mask she could sense his glee._

_"Well, well...looks like you survived another night, Mudblood."_

_She curled up, looking away. He tutted and opened the door. She glared at him, defiant._

_"Go away." She croaked. Suddenly she was wrenched into standing, her cuts and burns screaming in agony. She let out a dry yelp, staring into the bottomless black holes of the mask._

_"Be a good, quiet girl, Mudblood."_

_She gritted her teeth in anger and squirmed, trying to get free from the Death Eater's grasp. He tossed her to the ground, aiming his wand at her as she crawled backwards. She could almost hear the glee in his voice as he took a step forward._

_"Crucio."_

_And her scream echoed through the memory as the world bled red._

Her eyes snapped open and she gasped sharply as she sat up, her gaze darted around, trying to find the Death Eater, her body tensing and ready for the pain to come.

But as her mind caught up to her racing heart, she began to calm. She wasn't 12 anymore...she wasn't a prisoner in that Death Eater's home. She wasn't even on Earth, or in Chicago anymore. She was...well she wasn't sure what this place was called, other than the human realm. She exhaled shakily, staring at a stone ceiling, dimly lit by the morning light. It was barely dawn, but she couldn't find it in herself to fall back asleep.

 _"Another exhausting day awaits me."_ She thought to herself. Her gaze shifted when the blankets moved and she turned slightly. Her gaze softened, a small smile crossing over her face as she watched August turn in his sleep, his chest rising and falling with each light snore. Well it seemed the silencing charm was still effective she thought in relief. August didn't need to know about this. There was enough things going on for him...he didn't need an added worry of her nightmares on his shoulders. She settled next to him, watching him sleep. She blushed when he turned again, his arm wrapping around her in a protective manner. An air of calm covered them, and she closed her eyes, trying to relax.

She would be fine. She could handle things on her own.

She had done so before...she could do so now.

* * *

She yawned again as she flipped through a book, trying to read a spell that caught her interest. 

"Are you alright, Cassidy?" Altea asked, glancing up from the tome she was reading. "That is the fifth time you've yawned in two minutes."

"Yeah, I'm fine." She replied with a grin. "Just...dry material."

 _"Liar."_

She hoped her smile was convincing enough for the wizard, and it seemed to be as Altea returned to reading, but she couldn't get into this book. The magic here was so different than the magic she learned. It was draining having to try and decipher what would work for her and what wouldn't. Her mind wandered a little bit and she rubbed her eyes a little to push away the exhaustion again. When she glanced up again, she blushed when she saw that now Iseul, Altea, _and_ Saerys were staring at her, a look of concern on their faces.

"Is our friend August keeping you up late, Cassidy?" Iseul teased, though it was apparent even he was concerned. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh ha, ha...very funny."

"Still..." Saerys interrupted, "are you sure-"

"Cassidy."

The girl looked up and grinned as August stood at the entrance of the library. 

"Hi August." She said, getting up and walking over to him. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you were ready for training?"

"Yeah sure." She said with a grin, ignoring the stares that seemed to burrow into the back of her head. For once she was actually glad for training. Anything that would keep the questions to a minimum. She looked back at the others with a grin.

"I'll see you guys later."

"Alright..." Altea said reluctantly, glancing at August who frowned in confusion, but didn't verbalize it, merely following Cassidy out of library, heading to the training grounds.

* * *

Cassidy barely managed to stop another yawn as she and August entered their room. As she expected, the day had been long and exhausting. Still, even August looked tired. So maybe that was why she was so tired.

 _“You’re just looking for an excuse because your exhaustion is something else, mudblood.”_ A voice whispered in her head. She rubbed her forehead, trying to stave off the growing headache. Sleep was not going to come easy for her tonight, she was sure of it.

“Cassidy?”

She jumped slightly turned, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. August was observing her and she flushed under his gaze. 

“Yeah?” She asked.

“Are you alright?” 

She blinked at August, who was pulling his shirt off, glancing at her in curiosity. 

“I’m fine. Just a bit tired.” She said, sticking her tongue out. “ _Someone_ decided to up the training.”

He flushed.

“It was not that bad.”

“Sure, sure.” She teased. He rolled his eyes, kissing her forehead. Her eyes closed, relaxing in his hold.

“Are you sure you have been sleeping well though? You seemed to tire easier today during training.” He asked and she chuckled softly.

“I’m fine, really.” She promised. “It’s just training. Unlike you, my previous lifestyle didn’t have much of this.”

“Alright.” He said after a moment and she grinned. Getting ready for bed took little time and soon she was curling up under the blankets, laughing when he pulled her to him. She looked up, staring at him in confusion.

“I love you.” He said and she smiled, and pecking him lightly on the lips, curling up to his side.

“Love you too.”

He smiled, kissing her lightly before relaxing into the covers. She curled up to him, listening to his heartbeat against her cheek, praying he could not hear hers.

She didn’t know how long she lay there as she listened to his breathing slow and quiet with the tendrils of sleep taking hold. When it felt long enough for him to have fallen asleep, she slid out from his hold for a moment and grabbed her wand. 

“Silencio.”

After a few seconds she tested it and when she heard nothing, put the wand back onto the nightstand and curled up, letting sleep take over finally. She hoped no dreams would come, but she knew it was never going to be that easy.

* * *

_She blinked and looked around her heart hammering into her throat as she recognized the room, all the small knick-knacks, the posters, the clothes...the decor of a young girl not understanding her life was about to change. She shook her head._ _It was ridiculous. This had already happened. She was a woman now. An adult. This was in the past._

_Yet as she heard footsteps get closer to the door, it was the child that shook._

_Suddenly hands dragged her out of bed, the world blurred, softened by memory as they pulled her down a warped hall into the living room. Yet her parents kneeling in front of her was crystal clear, wands pointed at their heads._

_“Choose.”_

_“I can’t.”_

**_“Choose.”_ **

_“I can’t!!!”_

_“Fine.”_

_She opened her mouth to beg, to take her instead. They were young, they could have other kids. Other non-magical kids. They could forget her. They-_

_But a sickly green glow filled the shadows, the sounds of their bodies hitting the ground echoed in her ears, and her scream filled the space._

_Then her home became bars of a cage, a chain around her neck as a leash and collar, a man’s laughter echoing as she curled up, trying to ignore it. Trying to forget._

_She was jerked up by her hair, a mask staring at her. Mocking her._

_“Stupid little mudblood. Stupid, stupid. Stealing our magic. Think you could get away. Think you could be sent to another world and you’d be safe?”_

_She blinked and looked up in surprise. What? He had never said-_

_She looked down and saw she was an adult now, looking around in panic._

_No...no...this wasn’t a memory...this wasn’t real...this-_

_But all reasonable thoughts stopped as a form appeared prone in the shadows, his sword laying nearby, eyes vacant. Lifeless. She felt her legs give out and then she reached for him, but was unable to touch him._

_She screamed._

**_“AUGUST!!”_ **

Her eyes snapped open and she found herself staring at the ceiling, arms raised in a desperate reach to grasp the nightmare. Blinking several times, she sat up and looked around the room, before sighing weakly, rubbing her brow. 

Not Earth. She wasn’t in England. There weren’t Death Eaters around every corner waiting to kill her. Sure there were the Witch Queen’s soldiers, but she could handle those.

She wasn’t in Chicago, but she was home.

Safe. She was safe.

However she couldn’t stop jumping when a hand captured hers and she looked up to see August staring at her, eyes alight with concern. Eyes…that weren’t remotely sleepy looking. She frowned, and concentrated, dispelling the charm quickly.

“August?”

“Are you all right?”

“I’m...fine…” She said, blushing brightly. “I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

“I never went to sleep.”

“...yes you did. I literally watched…” she trailed off in realization and frowned. “Wait, did you fake falling asleep?”

August’s silence was answer enough and she frowned.

“Okay, why?” She said, crossing her arms. “I told you I was fine.”

“The others have been noticing that you were tiring quicker in the daily activities. And the last few days, I have noticed as well. Despite you reiterating that you were fine, I can tell you are lying. Gods Cassidy, you were having a nightmare moments ago.”

“I’m not allowed to have nightmares?”

“Of course you are. Nightmares occur...however you knew there was a possibility of it before we went to bed, given that you put a spell on yourself so you would not awaken me, which informs me you have done this before and recently. And tonight I witnessed you screaming, yet I could not hear you. And I cannot help but wonder how many times you had been tormented by these nightmares and I lay sleeping beside you unaware.”

She opened her mouth before closing it and looking away. 

“It has been happening awhile then.” August said with a sound of hurt in his voice. She shook her head frantically.

“It's not like that. August...it…” she huffed, “The nightmares are just...they’re just replaying old memories. It’s not every time, it’s just been happening a little more recently. That’s all. I didn’t want to bother you. You need your sleep and it…it doesn’t matter.”

“It matters to me.” August replied gently, brushing a strand of hair back, before cupping her cheek. “Please?” He asked. She bit her lip, before sighing and leaning against him.

“...I told you once, that when I was younger there was a war in the Wizarding World, right?”

“Yes. It was after you returned from the Witch Queen’s castle.” He replied.

“And I told you that people like me were not well received during that time.”

“You did. I do not completely understand what you meant by that though.”

Cassidy was quiet for a moment. She couldn’t back out...not now.

“...I’m a muggle-born witch. It means neither of my parents had magic, while I do. People like me are...looked down because of our bloodline by purebloods; those who can track their magical lines for centuries. During the war it was worse...those who were in league with a dark wizard named Voldemort hunted down and killed people like me. They were called Deatheaters. Of course, I was only a kid, so while I knew that bad shit was happening...I don’t think my parents or I really realized how bad things were. One night...they found us. It wasn’t hard for them to capture us. I mean I wasn’t even a teenager and my parents had no skills on this. Capturing us was easy enough.”

She could tell that August was looking at her, but she refused to meet his gaze. Softly she felt his hand reach and brush through her hair. It was such a soft gesture, a familiar one that the tears came unbidden, falling down her face.

“...they told me to choose.” She finally said, clearing her throat to dislodge the knot in it. August’s hand faltered for a moment in confusion as she let out a broken laugh, wiping at her eyes. “Because it’s my fault I ‘stole’ this magic…I was told to choose which of my parents was going to live and who was going to die. I was only twelve, and I was going to be one of my parents' executioners.”

“Cassidy…” August said softly. 

“And the worst part? I couldn’t. I couldn’t choose who they were supposed to kill. So they killed them both, right in front of me.” She said, the tears sliding down her face. August’s grip tightened on her.

“After that I’m sure they planned on killing me too...but one of the death eaters decided to take me, keep me to study. I guess he wanted to figure out why a girl with parents who didn’t have affiliation with magic was a witch. I was there for a month and barely managed to escape. After the war was done, I went back to school, graduated, started my career as a healer and moved to Chicago. I tried to move past it, but I relive my parents death and that month in the nightmares every now and then. I figured out how to deal with them by placing a silencing charm on me.”

“And you chose to not inform any of us of this? Not inform me of what plagued you at night?”

“What good is it going to be with me bringing up things that were my fault to begin with?”

“That was not your fault.”

“August-“

“It was not.”

She looked up at him.

“You were a child, Cassidy. I cannot say for certain what would have happened had you followed their orders. I was not there to witness it. However, I believe that they had no intention of following through with letting one live. They gave you that option just to hurt you further in the long run.” He said after a moment. She bit her bottom lip. 

“I cannot take away those memories or wreak vengeance on those who hurt you, as much as I want to.” August said softly. “However, do not hide this from me. Or the others. We all care for you, and I love you. It is never a burden for us.”

Tears slid down her face, breath hitching in her chest

“Sorry...I’m sorry.” She murmured.

“Do not apologize.” He said softly, kissing her forehead softly. “You had your reasons. However, I am here for you. I will not let you suffer alone anymore.”

She began to sob, covering her mouth to try and stifle them, before she felt August pull her to him, rocking her as she cried. She felt the anxiety, the anger, and the fear that the 12 year old girl held onto to survive years ago breaking away little by little. She wished she could go back in time and tell that girl that it would get better. That she wouldn’t be alone and afraid forever. Instead sleep began to claw its way over her and she fought back a yawn. August pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.

“I believe it is long overdue for some sleep, my love.” He said softly. She let out a weak huff but made no attempt to move away as he maneuvered them back to where they were laying down. He held her close, brushing her hair back.

“You are safe, Cassidy. No one will hurt you while I am here.” He said softly and silently she nodded, curling up to his warmth, closing her eyes. She fell asleep to the lull of his heartbeat pressed against her cheek, his warmth enveloping her again.

* * *

When she woke up the next time, her eyes felt swollen, and ached. She shifted when a hand ran through her hair and she sighed, curling up to August, before looking up at him.

“Mornin’.” She murmured, internally groaning at how horrible and croaky her voice sounded. If he noticed, he chose to not say anything.

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Better than the last few nights…” she admitted with a soft yawn. “What time is it?”

“I believe it is late morning.”

“Late…” she trailed off, looking at him in confusion. “You wake up early every morning.”

“I do.”

“But you’re here.”

“I am. For one, you were clutching me the entire time, so extracting myself was nearly impossible.” He said with a teasing grin, earning a blush. “Secondly, this is the first night in several days you have slept peacefully for the majority of it, I was not about to wake you up. And I swore to you no one would hurt you while I was with you. I was not about to abandon you here or awaken you early to train.”

And now she knew her face was on fire.

“You realize the others are going to tease us something fierce.”

August chuckled, brushing a strand of her back behind her ear.

“Let them.” He replied. “Your well being is far more important.”

She looked at him, biting her bottom lip. She then slid onto his lap, straddling him and had to laugh as a light pink dusted his cheeks. 

“I love you.” She said softly after a moment and a gentle smile slid across his face, before she bent down and kissed him. 

Knights in armor weren’t just in fairy tales, she knew that well enough. But this knight was hers only, and she couldn’t be happier.


End file.
